Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, Colorado

One way to make your subject “pop” is to isolate it against a soft blurry background.

The way to do that is to minimize the depth of field (the near to far sharpness in the image) by using a long focal length and getting close to your subject. I used a 100-400mm lens at the 400 mm focal length on a Canon 20D camera. Thanks to the 20D’s “field of view crop”, that is like using a 640 mm lens on a full frame digital camera or a 35mm film camera.

I was only a few feet away from this Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel when I took this photo.  The rocky outcropping is at a popular overlook in Rocky Mountain National Park so the ground squirrel was used to people being around, but kept it’s distance when people were around.  I had to wait for everyone else to leave to get this photo. It took some patience since new people would arrive as other people left. Finally, I had the area to myself.

I set up my tripod at a good location (with a distant mountainside as the background behind the rocks). I sat quietly, moved as little as possible, and waited. With everyone else gone, the ground squirrel became less nervous. Eventually, the ground squirrel wandered about the rocky area as if I wasn’t there at all, getting close enough for me to get several nice portraits. When other people arrived, it scurried away and the portrait session was over.

More information on controlling depth of field (two full chapters) can be found in Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies.  If you use this link to buy the book, you help support this site (thanks in advance if you decide to do this).

Photo Data:  Canon 20D, 100-400mm lens at 400 mm. f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 100.

You can order a print of the above photo at JimDoty.Zenfolio.com in the Wildlife or Colorado galleries.